The AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy maintains this blog to disseminate information relevant to astronomers who identify as women. If you have an idea for a blog post or topic, please submit to wia-blog at lists.aas.org.
The views expressed on this site are not necessarily the views of the CSWA, the AAS, its Board of Trustees, or its membership.

Friday, April 26, 2019

AASWomen Newsletter for April 26, 2019

AAS Committee on the Status of WomenAAS Committee on the Status of WomenIssue of April 26, 2019eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Cristina Thomas, Maria Patterson, and JoEllen McBride

[AAS has migrated the mailing list for this newsletter to Mailman. Therefore, it is no longer possible to subscribe or unsubscribe to the AASWomen newsletter by means of Google Groups. Current subscribers will continue to receive their newsletter issues through the existing email listserv until their subscriptions are ported to the new system. No action on their part is needed. Please follow us on social media for updates: Twitter @AAS_Women Facebook https://bit.ly/2PkU9of

Blog Editor's Note: We are reposting this announcement and extending the survey deadline to May 3. The CSWA is interested to hear from our community what activities should be prioritized as we move into the 2020s. Please respond and remember to share the survey with your colleagues. Thanks to all those who have responded already!

"When [Corey] Gray, who is a member of the Siksika Nation of Alberta, Canada, found out about [the detection of gravitational waves], he began to think about the press releases. They would no doubt be translated into widely spoken languages—French, Japanese, Mandarin. "That's when I thought it would be freaking cool to get my mom involved and translate this news into Blackfoot," Gray says, adding that he isn't quite fluent in the language himself. "This way she would be a poet for Einstein and astrophysics. A code-talker for gravitational waves."

Back to top.3. 'This is the tip of the iceberg': More than 8,500 women have joined the 500 Women Scientists databaseFrom: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By Megan Thielking

"The name 500 Women Scientists is a bit of a misnomer.

Since the grassroots organization launched its searchable database of women scientists in January 2018, more than 8,500 researchers across the globe have shared their information so that journalists, conference organizers, and teachers can tap into their expertise. From "manels" to meetings with an abundance of Michaels, the leaders of 500 Women Scientists say the need for their database is clear. And now, they have data to demonstrate its impact."

Back to top.4. Where are the Black Women in STEM Leadership?From: Maria Patterson [maria.t.patterson_at_gmail.com]

"Today, Black women are working in every industry imaginable and doing jobs that, just a generation or two ago, we could only dream of. Yet the number of those working at senior levels in STEM fields remains distressingly low. In March, the National Science Foundation reported that in 2016 alone, Black women earned more than 33,000 bachelor's degrees in science and engineering and accounted for 24 percent of doctorates awarded in STEM. But that same report showed that in 2017, only 5 percent of managerial jobs in STEM were held by Black women. So, where are we?"

Back to top.5. Sexual harassment is pervasive in US physics programmesFrom: Heather Flewelling [flewelling.heather_at_gmail.com] and Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]

"In a survey of women pursuing US undergraduate degrees in physics, nearly three-quarters report having experienced at least one type of sexual harassment during their science studies.

The research, conducted in 2017 at a series of US conferences for undergraduate students, was published on 22 April in Physical Review Physics Education Research. It is one of the first reports to document the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in physics."

Back to top.6. Program Aims to Train South African Girls in Science FieldsFrom: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By Anita Powell

"The number of women working in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM fields in South Africa has not been very large.

But programs aimed at girls there are beginning to change that. TechnoGirl is one example. Over about ten years, the program has worked to bring 11,000 high-school girls into these areas of study known as the STEM fields."

Back to top.7. Power Of The Pack: Women Who Support Women Are More SuccessfulFrom: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]

"New research in the Harvard Business Review finds that while both men and women benefit from having a network of well-connected peers across different groups, women who also have an inner circle of close female contacts are more likely to land executive positions with greater authority and higher pay ... there was no link found for the success of men in terms of the gender composition of their inner circles."

Read more and find advice on how to find and cultivate a close network of female professionals at